Wednesday Bolts – 8.24.11
Jeff Green admitted to Yahoo! that joining the Celtics was rough: “They’ve been together for a number of years,” Green said of the Celtics. “They’ve already won a championship, they’ve already have a system, they already have their chemistry and that bond on that team. It was tough to go into that situation.”
Holly MacKenzie of TBJ on KD’s movie ventures: “To be clear: In no way do I think Durant is suddenly going to turn into a different person or player than the one he’s been for his NBA career thus far, but there is a lesson to be learned here. It’s the same lesson we’re supposed to learn every time we build someone up like this. I’m not saying Durant doesn’t deserve to be praised and applauded for his professionalism and affability. I’m glad he’s getting his shine. I just hope we all recognize that he’s not perfect. He of the otherworldly talent and superhero skills is still human.”
Related: Blake Griffin is going to intern at Funny or Die.
Rick Reilly on Turkish basketball: “Turkish fans lose their minds at women’s games, so you can imagine what it’s like at men’s. “I was watching our women’s team play one night,” Baron says. “They were beating this team when one of [the other team’s] fans set off a flare in the gym. There was smoke everywhere. They had to stop the game.” Plus, Americans like Williams who play in Turkey have to understand, it’s a country where anti-Americanism and anti-Jewish sentiment run deep. In one game in 2009, Israel’s Bnei Hasharon team had to flee the court and lock itself in the locker room when fans of Turk Telekom rioted over violence in Gaza. Fans chanted “God is Great” and “Killer Israel” to an empty court. One pro-Islamic faction set an Israeli flag on fire outside the arena. Hey, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade, maybe you want to re-think this idea of playing in a country that’s bordered by Iraq, Iran and Syria?”
CBSSports.com’s top five in the best 100 players.
KD might play in some exhibitions in Australia?
Via Bloomberg, arena operators could lose $1 billion for a lost season: “Stuck in the middle are arena operators who have blacked- out exhibition, regular-season and playoff dates for their NBA tenants. Because securing big-name talent like Lady Gaga and Jay-Z requires so much lead time, it would be “impossible” to replace each team’s 40-plus basketball dates with other events, said John Wentzell, president of TD Garden in Boston, home of basketball’s Celtics and hockey’s Bruins, who own the building. “As much as we would like to have the ability to repurpose those dates, it’s just impossible,” Wentzell said in a telephone interview. “I don’t think anyone would attempt to spin this — that it’s not a painful hit to their business.”
KD went on a bike ride to Mt. Vernon yesterday.
KD also experienced the great DC earthquake: “Working out and earthquakes don’t mix…”
